A Legacy to be Proud Of
by Raberba girl
Summary: Tomoe gets better at playing, and becomes a mother. Re-written in my normal style as a legit KT fic; no longer deliberately provocative.


A Legacy to be Proud Of

(rough draft)

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: Tomoe gets better at playing, and becomes a mother. Re-written in my normal style as a legit KT fic; no longer deliberately provocative.

A/N: [9 July 2013] I did some praying and thinking, and concluded that it's not very Christian to fight fire with fire. Most Kenshin/Kaoru fans are already deeply wounded from whatever makes them lash out so irrationally, so no matter how immature and outrageous their behavior is, it's still not good to try to hurt them deliberately. Even though I did put a warning at the top of the fic, it didn't work as justification, because I already knew from past experience that most of the KK fans who needed to heed that warning would ignore it. Besides, revenge is never a real solution.

I re-wrote this story instead of deleting it, because deliberately crappy and trollish as the original was, there _were_ some concepts in it that I liked, and I didn't want to waste them. I don't mind discussing things with KK fans, but I very rarely get the opportunity, since the vast majority of them will just type an anonymous flame and then dash away.

Enjoy, KT fans. Sorry for that ridiculous excuse for a romance you had to put up with before. This version is actually true to the pairing. And if you _did_ happen to like the horribly-written version, sorry it's not all "SEX ROMANCE UBER-CORNY CLICHE LOL" anymore; romance is really not my thing. :p

o.o.o

They were cute and sweet and funny, the children who so often came to visit them. She honestly thought so, even though it never occurred to her to say it. Tomoe admired her husband so much at these times, watching him play with them so effortlessly, as if he knew what to do from instinct. The love that shone from their eyes, his and theirs, was beautiful to watch. She was afraid to touch it, for fear that her own lack of instinct would mar it.

"Rai-kun had you playing the Shinsengumi against them this afternoon," she said wryly as they were preparing supper. She had never expected to ever cook alongside her husband, but not only was Kenshin amazingly helpful with the housework, he was actually quite good at it.

Kenshin laughed. Even after all this time, she still marveled at his laugh. She had never heard it back in the city; it was only here, in the country after their marriage, that she was seeing glimpses of the joyful child he must once have been. "I know it's ironic..."

"You seem to be taking it in good humor, though."

"I like what it implies," he said affectionately. "They want to see justice as much as I do, so they take on what they think is the hero's role. I appreciate that."

"So you step in to represent your enemies, just to give the children a chance to be heroes. Always willing to get your hands dirty for the greater good, even now," she murmured thoughtfully, and blushed a little when he leaned to kiss her.

"For the ones precious to me, whom I wish to protect? Always."

She set down the knife so that she could kiss him back, holding his face so he could see her eyes afterward. "We are grateful for the sacrifices you make. But for both our sake and yours: don't stay in the darkness too long. Come back to the light and remind yourself of what you have been fighting for." Their life now might seem idyllic, but the war had not yet ended. Kenshin could still be called back to duty at any time.

He studied her a while, and the appreciative love in his eyes made her breathless. "Of course," he finally murmured. "Whenever I see your smile, how could I forget?"

She was startled. "My smile?" She knew that she was not naturally very expressive. She could not even recall if she ever _had_ smiled at him before.

So she tried to smile for him now, and was rewarded by the sound of his delighted laugh.

There were other things she decided to try now, too. Just because she was not naturally skilled at playing with children didn't mean she had to distance herself. "...Is that a new doll, Aya-chan?"

Startled at being unexpectedly addressed, the little girl looked up in surprise. She had been crouched on the porch, playing with a doll as Kenshin and the boys had a noisy mock-battle in the yard.

"Um...sort of."

Tomoe tried to think of something else to say. "It has a beautiful outfit."

"Mama made it yesterday," the girl said, more eager than shy now. "She had extra left over from the new kimono she made, so she said Rika-chan could have a new kimono, too."

Tomoe crouched down to take a closer look. "The fabric is quite lovely."

A second little girl named Mayuko now came over, her interest caught by seeing Tomoe getting involved rather than just watching or doing chores. "Will you play with us, Neesan?"

"Er...yes, if you like."

"Yay! You and me and Aya-chan and Rika-chan and Fuu-chan can all sit together and have tea."

"Would you like me to make some?" Tomoe wondered. It also took her a minute to realize that 'Rika-chan and Fuu-chan' must be the dolls, since there weren't any other girls around.

Both children stared at her in delight. "We'll have real tea?!"

What had they been expecting? "Certainly, if you like." She stood up to go inside, but they stopped her.

"Wait, Neesan! We have to get ready first!"

_'Get ready?'_

She began to catch on that much of it was games of make-believe. The little girls pretended to be dressing in fine kimono, and plaited each other's hair as best they could. Tomoe winced at the sight of their tangled, dirty locks getting twisted into uneven braids, and finally offered to do their hair for them.

"Really, Neesan?!"

They seemed to get so happy over such small things... "Yes, of course." It was actually rather enjoyable, combing out their long hair and braiding it properly; even that simple thing made them look more like beautiful young ladies and less like tomboys playing in the dirt on a farm. The girls were utterly delighted with the effect, especially when Tomoe caught sight of the wildflowers Mayuko had been collecting earlier, and it occurred to her to suggest that the blossoms be used as hair ornaments. It seemed so strange to use weeds for such a thing, but if they could make believe that their ragged clothes were fine kimono, this should not be too difficult, right?

"We're so pretty~!"

Kenshin seemed to agree. Looking a bit battered and in need of a rest, he turned back toward the house and stopped dead in amazement when he saw what his wife and the girls had been up to. "Oro! Look at you all!"

"We're pretty, Niisan, aren't we?" Aya and Mayuko demanded eagerly.

"_Beautiful_! I'll have to act like a gentleman now!" They laughed. He grinned and stooped to kiss Tomoe's cheek. "Fantastic work," he whispered in her ear, making her blush with pleasure again.

One night, a few months after their marriage, the couple lay together in bed, and Tomoe decided that she was certain enough by now to tell him. She reached through the darkness and took her husband's hand, placing his palm on her bare abdomen. She could practically sense his silent inquiry, then he suddenly sat up. She looked up at him, waiting.

"It's true, then?" he whispered in anticipation. "I was wondering, but...it's really true?"

"Yes," she murmured, wondering how he would react.

His excited kisses were answer enough.

She was relieved to find that her husband was apparently a doting father. It could get tiresome at times, but was always infinitely preferable to the behavior of other expectant fathers she had seen. She did have some apprehension about the baby's sex, but when it was born safely some time later, Kenshin seemed triumphantly joyful even _before_ learning that it was a boy.

"Helloooo," Kenshin cooed at his squalling son. "I'm so happy to see yoooouuu~"

"I'm sure he'll return the sentiment eventually," she said wryly, shifting on the bed until she was more comfortable.

"I know you don't like it out here," Kenshin kept cooing at the baby, "but you will someday. I promise."

"Yes, love," Tomoe murmured affectionately at both the child and her husband. "Your father's been working very hard to make this country a better place for you to grow up."

Kenshin blushed. "Tomoe..."

"It's true."

"I just...wonder if he'll be ashamed of me someday, when he finds out what I've done."

Tomoe reached out to lay a hand on his arm. "No one could be ashamed of you, least of all me or your son."

Kenshin smiled a little, shook his head, and carefully returned the baby so that Tomoe could nurse him. The infant quieted down quickly. "What should we name him?"

"His father is Kenshin - 'sword-heart.'"

"You want to name him after me?" he said dubiously.

"In a way." She smiled a little. "Kenji."

"One who follows the path of the sword? No," Kenshin said quickly. "I don't want this boy to follow in my footsteps."

She was still smiling a little. "I do, though."

He stared at her.

"The man I married," she explained, "was not the merciless assassin. I married Himura Kenshin - one who loves the art of the sword. One who loves even more to use it in service of the weak and helpless, to defend from injustice those who cannot defend themselves. _That_ is the man in whose footsteps I want our son to follow."

Tears filled Kenshin's eyes for a moment, though he tried to blink them away even as he smiled. He leaned to kiss their tiny auburn-haired son, and then his beloved wife. "Kenji, then," he whispered. "Let's hope that both he and his father can live up to the legacy you expect of us."

"I have every confidence in you both," she murmured back.

"Tomoe..."

They kissed again, the gesture full of love and trust, and Kenji gurgled happily as he apparently decided that this bright new world might not be so bad after all.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I can't even count the number of times I've heard people complain about Kenji's parentage in my stories. **It's ****fanfiction****. Get over it, okay?**

Lol, even though I'd originally written this fic with the worst quality I could manage because it was meant to tick people off, the story ended up with some things in it that I liked anyway. XD So I kept those concepts and just re-wrote the prose in my normal style rather than the ridiculous style I'd used before.

Just so you know, there's usually no clear indication between singular and plural in Japanese. Maybe it's okay to put an S at the end of words like "kimono" when you're speaking English, but in Japanese, "kimono" can be either singular or plural depending on the context.


End file.
